Method and apparatus for producing a cigarette package with tear tab opening means



J. TAMARIN 2,923,110 FOR PRODUCING A CIGARETTE EAR TAB OPENING MEANS Feb. 2, 1960 3 METHOD AND APPARATUS PACKAGE WITH '1 Original Filed June 10, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR.

BERNARD J. TAMARIN I ATTORNEY Feb. 2, 1960 B. J. AMARIN METHOD AND APPARATUS F PRODUC A CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH TEAR TAB 0 ING MEANS Original Filed June 10, 1953 3 Sh 0 She t 2 M .9 MA M Km m D R A N R E B 4 I ATTORNEY B. J. TAMARIN 2,923,110 TUS FOR PRODUCING A CIGARETTE ITH TEAR TAB OPENING MEANS Feb. 2, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 METHOD AND APPARA PACKAGE W Original Filed Ju ne 10, 1953 INVENTOR. BERNARD J.TAMARIN BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent 'ice METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH TEAR TAB OPEN- ING MEANS I Bernard J, Tam'arin, Flourtown, Pa.

Original application June 10, 1953, Serial No. 360,789,

now Patent No. 2,845,213, dated July 29, 1958. Divided and this application July 21, 1958, Serial No. 749,674

-7 Claims. (Cl. 53-14) My invention relates to the art .of packaging, and it is designed to provide an improved method of and apparatus for rapidly and economically embodying my improvements in packages dilfering but little in appearance from packages made on standard equipment. This application is a division of my application Serial No. 360,789, filed June 10, 1953, now Patent No. 2,845,213.

The leading objects of my invention are to afford immediate access by a single, simple pull to the contents of an effectively moisture-proofed package; to overcome inherent difliculties in opening and reclosing conventional types of cigarette packages having a foil inner wrapper and a sealed outer sheath of cellophane (sheeted cellulose acetate) or similar materials in which it is difiicult to initiate a tear; to avoid mutilation commonly incident to the opening of a conventional cigarette package; and to provide a package .on which the bulk of the moisture-proo-fed sheath will be retained and whose inner wrapper may be reclosed after opening.

My improvements are applicable to either machine made packages or to handmade packages, but are particularly applicable to packages of the type shown in PatentNo. 2,675,169 and made .on apparatus such as shown in Patent No. 2,783,596, and sheathed in cellophane by a modified cellophane wrapping machine, preferably havingthe general characteristics of the Soandia type.

In accordance with my present invention, a tear-initiating slit is cut in a cellophane sheet, either after or before the package is sheathed therein, and the slit is sealed by covering it with a tab which is bonded to the cellophane all around the slit but leaving a free edge forming a lip which is preferably of multi-ply construction.

The tear-initiating slit preferably extends substantially across the top of the cellophane sheet which overlies end closure fiaps of the inner wrapper which are downfolded so that at least one of the narrower flaps is at least partially overlaid by two downfolded broad flaps which are held in a downfolded, partially overlapping relation to one another by the bight of a revenue stamp or the like whose ends are respectively attached to the front and back of a jacket enclosing the body of the inner wrapper.

The broad flaps are slit'transversely adjacent to the inner end of the narrow flap overlaid thereby, and the slits in the broad flaps are overlaid by the edge of the revenue stamp which is in proximity to the transverse slit in the top of the sheet.

The overlaid narrow closure flap of the inner wrapper is connected with the top section of the cellophane sheath by a folded pull strip having one lap peelably bonded to the surface ofthe inner section of the flap'and its other lap partially overlying the broad flaps of the inner wrapper and bonded to the inner surface of the top section of the sheath between the slit therein and the proxi imal top edge of a side of the package. The pull strip and top tab, aswell as the slit in the sheath, are each preferably of slightly less width than 2,923,116 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 the top section of the cellophane sheath and the pull strip and/ or top tab and front and back top edges of the package formtearing guide for tears initiated at the terminal of the slit in the sheath.

The sheath preferably has a sealing seam formed by overlapped edges extending mediately along a side of the package. The overlapped edges may be provided with intersecting slits adjacent to the top edge of such side so as to intercept any tear which tends to run from the top edge of the cellophane sheath down along the edges of the seam on the side thereof.

When a pull on the lip of the sealing tab initiates tearing .of the cellophane top section at the termini of the slit therein, the tears tend to follow the lines of least resistance between the lateral edges of the top tab and the adjacent edges of the package to the corners thereof, thence between the end of the top tab and the top edge of the side of the package to the side seam in the sheath and thence downward along the seam to the intercepting cuts therein.

In this tearing operation, stress is transmitted from the tab, through the severed top section of the sheath and through the narrow flap which thereby withdraws the edges of the broad flap sections from under the edge of the stamp and unfolds such sections to form, with the narrow flap between them, a reclosable spout through which the contents of the package may be withdrawn.

The best method and apparatus which I have contemplated for producing the same, will further appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pouch type cigarette package with its narrow closure flaps and its broad closure flaps unfolded and a flexible pull strip peelably attached to the outer surface of the upper portion of one of the narrow closure flaps; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top portion of the same package with the narrow flaps downfolded; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top portion of the same package with all the fiaps downfolded and secured in place by a stamp adhering to front and back walls of the package jacket; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top portion of the same package with an unsealed end wrap cellophane sheath thereon; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the package of Figs. 1 to 4 with an unsealed side wrap cellophane sheath thereon; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the package of Figs. 1 to 4 with a side wrap cellophane sheath wrapped thereon from the opposite side of the package from that shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top portion of the package shown in Fig. 5 with the narrow flaps of the sheath downfolded; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of thetop portion of the package showing Fig. 7 with all the. flaps downfolded and bonded together and to the pull strip by a heating element, which is shown diagrammatically; Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic fragmentary perspective view illustrating the slitting of the downfolded wide flaps adjacent to the inner end of a downfolded narrow 'flap of the cellophane sheath; Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic fragmentary perspective view illustrating the deposition of an outer pull strip or tab on portions of the tension 20 are simultaneously folded down.

forming the outer sealing tab and bonding it to the sheath; and Fig. 18 is a detached, fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modification in the hemrning of the outer sealing tab.

As shown in the drawings, my invention is applied to a cigarette package comprising a soft shell pouch composed of an inner wrapper 1, and a printed jacket or label 2 which is telescoped over and holds together the folded inner wrapper 1. The front, back, and side walls of the wrapper 1 have end extensions consisting of broad flaps 3, 4 and narrow flaps 5, 6 which, during the formation and filling of the pouch, project beyond the top edge 7 of the jacket2.

The broad flaps 3 and 4 are crease-cut or slit along lines 8 and 9 from the outer edges of such flaps to termini adjacent to the edge 7 and respectively at a distance from the proximal corner of the jacket approximating the height of the flap above the edge 7. The narrow fiap 5 has a pull strip 10 adhesively bonded to the upper portion thereof and peelable therefrom.

When the pouch has been filled with cigarettes 11, or other rod-like articles, the flaps 5 and 6 are folded down along the edge 7 to form tucks. The flaps 3 and 4 are folded down along the edge 7 and partially overlap one another and the downfolded narrow flaps 5 and 6. The flaps 3 and 4 are held downfolded by a stamp 12 which is adhesively bonded to the front and back sur faces of the jacket 2 and has a bight slightly overlying the crease-cuts 8 and 9 so that the end closure members 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all held in place but none of them are adhesively connected to one another.

The package thus formed is enclosed in a moisture resistant, transparent sheath 13, of cellophane or the like. As shown in Fig. 4, the sheath may be end wrapped around the package with its bight around the bottom thereof and its vertical edges 14 and 15 overlapped and sealed on opposite sides of the package. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the cellophane sheath may be side wrapped on the package with its bight around the side thereof opposite to the pull strip 10 and its edges overlapped to form a sealed seam 16 along the side of the package adjacent to the pull strip 10. As shown in Fig. 6, the cellophane sheath may be side wrapped around the package with its bight around the side of the package adjacent to the pull strip 10 and its edges overlapped to form a sealed seam 17 on the opposite side of the package from the pull strip 10. Regardless of what method of wrapping the cellophane sheath is employed, the free end of the pull strip 10 is initially bent upward by the application of the sheath 13 to the pouch, as indicated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

The cellophane sheath 13, however applied, has front, back, and side extensions 13, 19, and 21 which initially project beyond the top of the filled and closed package. The cellophane extensions 20 and 21 and the free end of the pull strip 10 pressing against the ex- The free end of the pull strip '10 overlies portions of the tuck 5 and of the flaps 3 and 4 which overlie the tuck 5 and the extensions 20 and 21 each forms a tuck overlying the end closure of the package approximately up to or slightly beyond the proximal edges of the stamp 12. The extensions 18 and 19 are then folded down to form flaps which overlap one another and partially overlay the tucks formed by the extensions 20 and 21.

The pull strip 10 and the. cellophane wrapper 13 are composed of, or their outer surfaces are coated with, a thermotropic substance so that when a heater and presser 22 are applied thereto the outer surface of the pull strip 10 adheres to the inner surface of the exten sion 20; the surface of the inturned sections of the extensions 18 and 19 adhere to the tucked extensions 20 and 21, and the inner surface of the extension 19 adheres to the outer surface of the extension 18 to form a sealed, moisture resistant sheath.

In accordance with my present invention, the extensions 18 and 19 are provided with complementary and partially overlapping slits 23 and 24 which may be crease-cut therein prior to the application of the cellophane sheet to the package, but are preferably cut accurately therein by a cutter 25 after the members 18, 19, 20, and 21 have been sealed.

The outer extremities of the slits 23 and 24 preferably lie near but spaced slightly from the front and back walls of the package and adjacent to the edge of the stamp 12 and to the inner edge of the downfolded extension 20;

A thermo-tropic tab 26 is laid over and bonded to the folded members 18, 19, and 20 and extends, preferably, from the top edge of the side wall of the package to a line beyond the slits 23 and 24 so that the latter are completely covered and sealed. The inner portion of the tab 26, extending inwardly beyond the slits 23 and 24, is preferably faced or hemmed with a strip 27 to form a multi-ply lip 26'. The body of the tab 26 is preferably composed of, or its under surface is coated with, a thermotropic material which, when exposed to heat and pressure from a heating element 28, securely bonds the body of the tab 26 to the members 18, 19, and 20. The heating of the body of the tab 26 by the element 28 causes a shrinkage of material which causes the multiply lip 26 to turn up, away from the top of the package, to form a convenient finger piece.

It will thus be seen that, whereas the flaps 3, 4 and 5 are in nowise bonded together and are unfoldable relatively to one another, the tuck-forming flaps 18, 19, and 20 are thermally bonded together so that they are not unfoldable relatively to one another and are connected as a unit through the pull strip 10 with the tuck-forming flap 5 which is free to unfold and to thereby unfold the sections of the flaps 3 and 4 lying between the flap 5 and the slits 8 and 9.

When the lip 26' is pulled toward the side of the package, tears are initiated at the outer termini of the slits 23 and 24 in the flaps 18 and 19 and run along the lateral and transverse edges of the tab 26 and adjacent top edges of the jacket 2 and down the edges of the side seam of the sheath to the intercepting, intersecting slits 29 and 30 in the overlapped edges forming the side seam. A stress is transmitted through the tab 26, flap sections 18, 19, 20, and pull strip 10 to the tuck 5. This causes the latter to unfold and thereby unfold the flaps 3 and 4. When the members 3, 4, and 5 are unfolded,

the pull strip 10 peels away from the member 5, and leaves a refoldable spout for access to the contents of the package.

The pull strip 10 may be conveniently formed and applied as set forth in Patent No. 2,675,169 or by the method and apparatus set forth in Patent No. 2,783,596.

The tab 26 may be formed and applied by the method and apparatus illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 17 and 18. As illustrated in Fig. 17, a transparent strip 31, of cellulose acetate or the like, is drawn from a roll 32 on the joumalled spool 33 by the relatively adjustable feed rollers 34 and 35. In passing from the roll 32 to the rollers 34 and 35, the strip 31 may be passed over rollers 36 and 37 and have applied thereto a narrow reinforcing edging 38 which is fed from a roll 39 on the journalled spool 40. The strip 31, and, if desired, the edging 38, has a thermo-plastic coating on the face thereof. The thermo-plastic coating on the edging 38 may be initially softened by the passage of the edging across a heater 41 with its uncoated face in juxtaposition thereto. The thermo-plastic coating of the edging 38 and the thermoplastic coating of the strip 31 are softened and bonded together to form a multi-ply edge section by their passage between the pressure rolls 36 and 42; the latter of which may be heated by a heating element 43. The uncoated surfaces of the edging 38 and the strip 31 are in juxtaposition to the roller surfaces so that adhesion to the roller surfaces is avoided.

The combined strip 3'1 and edging38 are fed by the feed rollers 34 and 35 across a fixed jaw 44 and under the oscillatory jaw 44' of a shear which severs the combined strip 31 and edging 38 into successive tabs 26 which are successively gripped and released by the jaws of conveyors 4'5 and 46, which are operable in suitably timed relation by earns 47 and 48.

The conveyors 45 and 46 are rotatable about a common axis to sequentially translate successive tabs 26 from the cutter jaws 44 and 44' to a position above the end closures of successive packages which are sequentially moved into position.

Each tab 26 is deposited on the end closure of a package so that the thermo-plastic surface of the'tab covers the slits 23 and 24 and is bonded to the end closure by an oscillating heater and presser 49 which acts in timed relation to the opening of the jaw of a conveyor 45 or 46. If the package is moved from the heated presser 49 before a desired firm bond is made between the thermoplastic surface of the tab 26 and the outer surface of the sheath flaps 18, 19, and 20, the package, with the tab thereon, may be passed beneath one or more additional heated pressers 50 until the desired firm bond is made between the members 18, 19, and 20 and the entire area of the tab 26 which is not covered by the edging 38. The exposed surfaces of the finger piece 26 are uncoated with a plasticizer and the action of the heated pressers on the plasticized portion of the tab 26 causes the multi-ply lip 26' thereof to bend upward so as to provide a readily seizable finger piece.

Instead of applying a separate facing strip 38 along the edge of the strip 31 as shown in Fig. 17, the strip 31 may be self-hemmed by running it through a hemmer 51 and between presser rolls 52, 53 interposed between the spool 33 and the rollers 42 and 36 to turn over a colored edge reenforcement 38 as shown in Fig. 18.

The rim of the heated roller 42 is preferably made of such thickness as to render tacky only the surfaces of the colored strips 38 or 38' which contact the coated surface of the strip 31.

The body of the tab 26 and the pull strip are preferably transparent if the sheath is transparent or colored to conform with a colored sheath so as to direct attention therefrom to the lip 26 whose ply 27 formed from a strip 38 or 38' is preferably of a color contrasting strikingly with the adjacent members so as to direct attention to the lip 26' and the operating instructions thereon or adjacent thereto.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. Apparatus for sealing a slit in the sheath of a sheathed package which comprises means for reinforcing an edge of a sealing strip, a cutter for severing said reinforced strip into tabs, means for translating successive tabs from said cutter to packages each having a slit sheath, and means for successively bonding a tab to a sheath aforesaid around the slit therein.

2. Apparatus for sealing a slit in the sheath of a sheathed package which comprises a support for a rolled strip, a cutter, means for translating a strip from said support to said cutter, means for bonding an edging to said strip during said translation thereof, a conveyor for successively translating sections cut from said strip by said cutter to successive packages, and means for bonding successive strip sections to successive packages around the slit in the sheath thereof.

3. Apparatus for sealing a slit in the sheath of a sheathed package which comprises a support for a rolled strip, a cutter, means for translating a strip from said support to said cutter, means for stiffening an edge of said strip during said translation thereof, a conveyor for successively translating sections cut from said strip by said cutter to successive packages, and means for bonding successive strip sections to successive packages around the slit in the sheath thereof.

4. Apparatus for sealing a slit in the sheath of a sheathed package which comprises a cutter for severing a sealing strip into tabs, means for translating successive tabs from said cutter to packages each having a slit sheath, and means for successively bonding a tab to said sheath about the slit therein.

5. Apparatus for sealing a slit in the sheath of a sheathed package which comprises a support for a rolled adhesive strip, a cutter, means for translating a strip from said support to said cutter, means for making an edge of said strip nonadhesive, a conveyor for successively translating sections cut from said strip by said cutter to successive packages, and means for causing successive sections to bond to successive packages around the slit in the sheath thereof.

6. In the art of packaging, the steps which comprise feeding a strip, thermally bonding a reinforcing ply along an edge of said strip, severing said strip into tabs, positioning sequentially tabs over slits in sheaths of sequentially moving sheathed packages, and bonding each tab to a sheath around the slit therein but leaving a reinforced edge of each tab free to form a lip.

7. In the art of packaging, the steps which comprise feeding a strip, stiffening an edge of said strip, severing said strip into tabs, positioning sequentially tabs over slits in sheaths of sequentially moving sheathed packages and bonding each tab to a sheath around the slit therein but leaving a reinforced edge of each tab free to form a lip.

No references cited. 

